Engineering New Zealand have just released their consultation document making the case for significant changes to CPEng, with particular implications for geotechnical practitioners. NZGS has given feedback on this draft, and Engineering NZ is now looking for broader feedback from their members.

This is a key part of their consultation document:

We want CPEng to move away from an assessment system that lets applicants choose their own area of practice and the work samples they are assessed on, towards a clearer, discipline-specific model that gives the public assurance Chartered Professional Engineers have met industry-approved standards, particularly in high-risk areas.

The proposals set out in this document are based on all the previous conversations we have had with Chartered Professional Engineers and members about options for change, all the work the technical groups have done to date to contribute to CPEng improvement initiatives, and our current understanding of MBIE’s position, which may well change during the course of our consultation and decision-making.

We know engineers and the public are frustrated, and tired of what seems like endless consultation without any real change to how engineers are regulated. If we strengthen CPEng, it could potentially fulfil the role of the quality mark for professional engineers and, in the future, encompass a kind of licensing for safety-critical work alongside complementary and unambiguous Chartered marks for engineering technicians, engineering technologists and engineering geologists. We have undertaken a comprehensive end-to-end review of the CPEng system that suggests this is possible.

We are confident we can make significant positive change to the CPEng system, but we would only do that with the profession’s support

You can read the full proposal, and give feedback on it, on the Engineering NZ website here. We will also be collating an NZGS opinion on this. If you have any feedback that you would like to share with the NZGS committee to be incorporated into this feedback please email chair@nzgs.org, or comment below on this article. We will attempt to summarise and compile the feedback you leave here, but cannot guarantee that it will all be fed back verbatim to Engineering NZ so please consider providing direct feedback as well if you fell strongly about this.